is there any better center in da league than the shaqtus in his prime?
there isnt
No. The closest thing is probably Cousins, but he plays for a poorly managed franchise.
Shaq would unironically average 40/20 in today's league
>>69476994
i have no doubt that prime shaw would eliminate the league of today
>>69476892
what about any center ever? shaws probably number 1 imo
Nah.
Shaq in his prime was impossible to defend. Absolutely dominant.
>>69476892
Shaq a fat ass old man
>>69476994
He'd destroy every single center in the modern NBA even if he's shorter than many of them
This is Shaq in his prime, somehow people forget this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RgEwVdQV78
>mfw imagining draymond green trying to stop prime shaq
>>69477098
>drayboon tries dirty shit
>shaw throws him into the ground
if only
Phoenix Shaq would be the best center in the league.
>>69476892
Kareem
zaza pachulia
>>69477211
>kameme
kareem would get bodied by the great aristotle
>>69477338
Shaq didn't had the technical ability to stop Kareem movements, he was a weight babby as much as Ming was a height babby.
>>69477390
it would be a wash. kareem and shaw would both dominate each other offensively
>>69477097
fuck shaw was based. I wasnt really until basektball until he had his last good years on the heat where he dismantled the bulls
>>69477097
That is in no way his prime. He was still getting fucked by the dream then. He wasn't the best until he put on a little weight and went to a more drop stop heavy game.
His spin move into jump hook where his elbow just shoved you 10 feet away then was literally impossible to stop
>literally a slightly more skilled, less athletic DeAndre Jordan.
He wasn't even as good as Cousins is now. If Cousins wasn't a head case and in a shitty organization, he'd be a champion by now. All you have to do is just hack a shaq and shoot 3s with muh curry to take him out of the game.
>>69477097
Got one without the nigger music?
>>69477798
that's true, I was thinking that while rewatching it. I guess I was just thinking he was an athletic freak of nature at one point in his career. He didn't rely on his power game but he still had the capacity to dominate every center in the league (until he met Hakeem obviously)
>>69477829
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkrPBAhVFn0
>>69477802
Shaq would have dunked the entire Memeiors team through the basket with the ball
>>69477798
>>69477842
Eh, people always forget that shaw was a beast in the finals against hakeem.
Hakeem was just more of a beast + had a better team
>>69477802
>less athletic
Shaq touched 12'5"
>>69477798
im talkng prime shaw. hed beat kareem if they both faced off in their primes
>>69476892
>We live in a universe where Shaq and Penny wasn't an eternal dynasty
Truly, this is the darkest of all timelines.
>>69476892
How bout Olajuwon? He did say he struggled the most against him
None. Most dominant player ever
era with big man center play > current era of m3m3s play
>>69478250
yeah hakeem torched mid 90s shaw, but i have my doubts about hakeem being able to do anything against early 2000s shaw, defensively at least. prime hakeem could probably still score at will against any iteration of shaq.
>>69477097
Le dunk man. He was a skillful player too why is it just all dunking?
>>69478379
Because whoever uploaded their mid-90s game tapes to the internet originally had video of mainly his dunks? If you wanna be autistic and try to catch all the 90s magic hardwood classics on nba tv and upload some sweet shaw footwork by all means go ahead.
Bane?
Dream
>>69476892
anon pls
hakeem da dream without a doubt, he made a career of toying with big diesel
>>69477097
>somehow people forget this
no one forgot shit, only the young fans who dont even know shit about basketball will look at this and think he was unstoppable
truth was he wasn't even the best center during those times. olajuwon was.
What I don't seem to get is that I see loads of people called Shaw the "most dominant player ever" but I hardly see him in GOAT discussions. Why is this? Educate a newbie please
>>69477141
OFFENSIVE FOUL
>implying that isn't the sorry state of the league
>>69478722
Shaw is the ultimate could-have-been case. If he cared enough about being the GOAT, he could have been the GOAT. Instead he ate junk food, stayed out of shape and decided to shoot Shazaam.
>>69478722
Got manhandled by The Dream, thus making a point for Hakeem being better than him. Not saying it's the truth (as Shaqovic wasn't even near his prime yet), but it's still something people should consider when comparing dominant centers in the league.
Of course, I'm sure prime Shaq would pretty much rip the current league apart with little trouble.
New question: Would 53 yo Hakeem dominate the current league?
>>69478722
because he wasn't even the best of his time
duncan and olajuwon, even ewing in his prime could play in the post and had touch with a jump shot, which kinda made shaq look one dimensional in comparison
that contrast of seeing big guys who could do it all, compared to shaq who was just dominant inside meant you couldn't give shaq as much credit
david robinson, patrick ewing, hakeem, duncan....all these guys were arguably better. ewing in his prime would probably toy with shaq the way hakeem would. when ewing had his knees he was legit
>>69478767
he has mentored and taught many elite big men, so yes.
the problem with big men isn't about their domination in the paint. the over-reliance of pick&roll and the disappearance of pure PGs like Stockton who can run the P&R, along with the bigs who can't roll inside, allows meme teams like GS to switch everyone and dare the big guy on the perimeter to post up the undersized matchup. That's why 3 point shooting bigs were valuable recently, but that advantage is also limited.
It's like when Kareem asked why no one uses the Skyhook but me? Well nigga, no one trains themselves like you on one specific offensive arsenal, despite how deadly it is. It's not about Coach Woodens and elite big men anymore. The coaching you are subjected to from the elementary school cultivates you in many fuckton basketball cultures that you lose any unique abilities you could've built on.
I think it's time for us all to admit that Hakeem the Dream is the best center of all time and a top 5 player.
>completely unguardable 1v1 by anyone
>able to dribble, pass, midrange shot+fadeaway, best post game ever
>athletic defender who could switch out on the perimeter, would be ideal for today's NBA
>beastly rim protector who got an absurd amount of blocks
>huge amount of steals for anyone, let alone a center. played passing lanes perfectly and had quick hands
>MVP
>multiple DPOTY
>back to back champ as the only star on the team
>>69478904
nah
the problem with big men is the fact there aren't any. there's only a handful of players that someone like draymond can't handle...i can only think of one player that gives him problems to be honest, so less than a handful.
a proper big man should not only have size but be able to move. the only guy coming to mind who fits that is whiteside.
>>69479027
no. a big man should be able to play post, that's what we don't have today. we have jumpers like biyombo or deandre jordan, but duncan in his prime would have eaten draymond alive. bankshot over bankshot, because he would know how to make use of his height advantage.
dirk is probably the only remaining member of the 'unblockable shot' fundamental class - height, fadeaway, high raise, quick release.
If Minny can get their shit together, I'm curious what KAT would do to Draymond though.
>>69479331
i agree to a certain extent. obviously skill in the post is needed, but post play can be countered by getting some leverage to disrupt timing, only way someone like green is capable of doing that is because he can compete for leverage with the majority of the bodies he finds himself in front of.
he would obviously have problems with a 7 footer, but aside from that, what he excels at is disruption, plus he's got enough reach to contend the actual shot attempt.
plus there's those big dudes who just play small, that's just where their instincts are. not to say they cant change, but they might end up being less effective trying to change.
>le can't take FTs man
fucking embarrassing
>>69478379
his hook and other 'touch' shots were really well developed for a big guy. obvsly not dream level
>>69478994
>top 5
in terms of game or achievements?
achievement hoarders like kareem + bill are over hakeem.
when ppl talk bball historically, everybody mixes game and stats and achievements too much.
like, how good was gary payton vs someone like steph curry?
Is The Dream the only acceptable muslim to have lived?
>>69477829
fucking kill yourself.
Geto Boys>>>Bach
>>69479964
Just game. Its all that matters. Achievements are an important but often unreliable part of measuring who was better than who
